Automation assisted elevation certificate production system

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatuses that may be utilized for the production of automation assisted elevation certificates are provided. One such method includes receiving, by an elevation certificate application, a plurality of elevation data points. Each of the elevation data points indicates an elevation at a particular location within an area defined between a structure boundary of a structure on a parcel of real property and a buffer boundary that surrounds the structure boundary. A first set of the elevation data points are determined that correspond to a first determined number of the plurality of elevation data points indicating highest elevations. A second set of the elevation data points are determined that correspond to a second determined number of the plurality of elevation data points indicating lowest elevations. A map of a region including the structure is displayed on a user computer device, and the first set and the second set of elevation data points are displayed on the map.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to the production of elevationcertificates for structures. More particularly, but not exclusively, thepresent disclosure relates to systems and methods for automationassisted elevation certificate production.

Description of the Related Art

A Flood Elevation Certificate is a certified document generated by asurveyor, engineer, or some other qualified, licensed person. The FloodElevation Certificate, which is also referred to as an “FEC” or simplyan “elevation certificate,” captures data used to rate a subjectproperty for flood insurance. The elevation certificate preciselyidentifies where the subject property is located in relationship to aBase Flood Elevation.

FIGS. 5A-5F, collectively, represent at least one arrangement of knownFEMA Form 086-0-33. This particular elevation certificate is madeavailable by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as FEMA Form086-0-33. Different sections of the elevation certificate in FIGS. 5A-5Fare assigned an alphabetical reference label, and various portions ofeach section (i.e., subsections) are assigned a numerical referencelabel. For example, the elevation certificate of FIGS. 5A-5F includesSections A-G. Section A in FIG. 5A of the elevation certificate isdedicated to information specific to the property. Section B, which isalso presented in FIG. 5A, is directed to flood insurance rate mapinformation. In FIG. 5B, Section C of the elevation certificate isdirected to building elevation information based on a survey. Spanningportions of FIGS. 5B and 5C, Section D is reserved for certificationinformation associated with a named surveyor, engineer, or architect.Sections E and F in FIG. 5C are directed, respectively, toward certainbuilding elevation information and toward property owner or suitablerepresentative certification information. In FIG. 5D, Section G isarranged to store optional community information. FIGS. 5E and 5F areabbreviated pages representing one or more sections of the elevationcertificate reserved for photographs of the subject property.

The Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (FDPA) outlines pre-conditionsnecessary for a property owner to receive any direct or indirect federalfinancial assistance required or requested as a result of a flood.Before the property owner becomes entitled to federal financialassistance, the FDPA mandates a purchase of flood insurance for anyproperty located in a Special Flood Hazard Area, and the price of floodinsurance is based on the information contained in a properly completedFlood Elevation Certificate.

Elevation certificates are required for structures with high flood risk(i.e., structures located in a Special Flood Hazard Area) as a conditionfor obtaining flood insurance from insurers and the National FloodInsurance Program (NFIP). The elevation certificate is used by aninsurance provider to determine the property-specific insurance ratepremium based on the structure's elevation relative to the Base FloodElevation (BFE).

An elevation certificate provides a rating entity with informationregarding the location of the building, the lowest floor elevation,building construction characteristics, identification of a flood zone,and other property characteristics useful in a rate determinationanalysis. The flood zones and the BFE are determined through floodinsurance studies conducted by FEMA. The rating entity provides ratedetermination analysis information, which is then used by the insuranceprovider to determine an insurance rate premium offered to a propertyowner.

Elevation certificates may also be required by communities participatingin the Community Rating System (CRS). The CRS is a FEMA program thatprovides for flood insurance discounts in communities that followfederal guidelines to mitigate flood risk within the community.

The cost of an elevation certificate, which is conventionally preparedby a licensed surveyor, engineer, or another qualified person, is borneby the property owner. The cost for elevation certificate preparationcan be prohibitive for some, costing several hundred to well over athousand dollars. The cost of obtaining an elevation certificate hasbeen identified as a major impediment to property owners seeking floodinsurance. The disincentive produced by the high cost contributes to theundercapitalization of the NFIP and the ability to optimize a ratestructure through appropriately distributed risk. Further exacerbatingthe problem is the time required to obtain and schedule services of alicensed, qualified professional. Homeowners can wait a month or morefor the elevation certificate to be completed, which puts mortgages onhold and properties at risk for uninsured loss.

All of the subject matter discussed in the Background section is notnecessarily prior art and should not be assumed to be prior art merelyas a result of its discussion in the Background section. Along theselines, any recognition of problems in the prior art discussed in theBackground section or associated with such subject matter should not betreated as prior art unless expressly stated to be prior art. Instead,the discussion of any subject matter in the Background section should betreated as part of the inventor's approach to the particular problem,which in and of itself may also be inventive.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides, in various embodiments, methods,systems and apparatuses relating to the production of electronicelevation certificates. In various embodiments, elevation data pointsassociated with a region surrounding a boundary of a structure areanalyzed by an electronic elevation certificate application to determinethe locations of elevation data points indicating a particular number,such as 2, 3, 5, 10, 20, etc., of the highest elevation points in theregion and the lowest elevation points in the region. The determinedhighest and lowest elevation points may be indicated in their respectivelocations on a map displayed on a portable user computing device. Auser, such as a local service representative, may thus make an onsitevisit to inspect the highest and lowest elevation points, as determinedby the electronic elevation certificate application, and to decide whichof the determined highest elevation points accurately represents thehighest adjacent grade (HAG) value, and which of the determined lowestelevation points accurately represents the lowest adjacent grade (LAG)value. The user may thus select particular elevation data points to beutilized by the electronic elevation certificate application as the HAGvalue and the LAG value, and the electronic elevation certificateapplication may automatically provide the HAG value and the LAG valueinto respective fields of an electronic elevation certificate.

In at least one embodiment, a method is provided for displayingelevation data relating to and facilitating generation of a standardizedelevation certificate on a graphical user interface of a first computingdevice. The method includes receiving, by an elevation certificateapplication hosted at least partially on a server computer device, aplurality of elevation data points including a first set of theelevation data points corresponding to an ordered plurality of highestelevations and a second set of the elevation data points correspondingto an ordered plurality of lowest elevations. The method also includes,via the graphical user interface, presenting a representation of astructure on a map, the structure being a physical structure on a parcelof real property. Via the graphical interface, the method also includesdynamically displaying a first selectable plurality of locations in abuffer zone around the structure represented on the map, each locationin the first selectable plurality corresponding to one of the orderedplurality of highest adjacent grade values, the buffer zone being anarea defined between a structure boundary of the structure and a bufferboundary that surrounds the structure boundary, and each of theelevation data points indicating an elevation at a particular locationwithin the buffer zone and dynamically displaying a second selectableplurality of locations in the buffer zone, each location in the secondselectable plurality corresponding to one of the ordered plurality oflowest adjacent grade values. Further still via the graphical userinterface, the method includes accepting a first user selection of oneof the first selectable plurality of locations, accepting a second userselection of one of the second selectable plurality of locations, and inresponse to the first user selection and the second user selection,automatically inputting elevation data associated with a first elevationdata point represented by the first user selection and a secondelevation data point represented by the second user selection intorespective fields indicating a highest adjacent grade (HAG) value and alowest adjacent grade (LAG) value of the standardized elevationcertificate.

In some embodiments, a same number of the first selectable plurality oflocations and the second selectable plurality of locations aredynamically displayed. The same number may be 10. In some embodiments,the first selectable plurality of locations are dynamically displayedwith visually different properties than the second selectable pluralityof locations.

In another embodiment, a method is provided that includes: receiving, byan elevation certificate application hosted at least partially on aserver computer device, a plurality of elevation data points, each ofthe elevation data points indicating an elevation at a particularlocation within an area defined between a structure boundary of astructure on a parcel of real property and a buffer boundary thatsurrounds the structure boundary; determining, by the elevationcertificate application, a first set of the elevation data pointscorresponding to a first determined number of the plurality of elevationdata points indicating highest elevations; determining, by the elevationcertificate application, a second set of the elevation data pointscorresponding to a second determined number of the plurality ofelevation data points indicating lowest elevations; displaying, on afirst computing device, a map of a region including the structure; anddisplaying the first set and the second set of elevation data points onthe map.

The first determined number and the second determined number may be asame number. In at least one embodiment, the first determined number andthe second determined number is 10.

This or other methods may further include: receiving, by the firstcomputing device, a selection of a first elevation data point among thefirst set of the elevation data points; receiving, by the firstcomputing device, a selection of a second elevation data point among thesecond set of the elevation data points; and automatically inputtingelevation data associated with the selected first elevation data pointand the selected second elevation data point into respective fieldsindicating a highest adjacent grade (HAG) value and a lowest adjacentgrade (LAG) value of an electronic elevation certificate recordassociated with the real property.

Receiving a selection of a first elevation data point may includereceiving a user input via a first user-selectable element provided onthe display, and receiving a selection of a second elevation data pointincludes receiving a user input via a second user-selectable elementprovided on the display.

This or other methods may further include: displaying, on the firstcomputing device, information associated with the first set of elevationdata points and the second set of elevation data points in a table, theinformation including at least one of the elevation and the particularlocation of each of the elevation data points of the first set and thesecond set of elevation data points.

A method may include: receiving a selection of one of the elevation datapoints of the first set of elevation data points or of the second set ofelevation data points via user input provided in a region of the firstcomputing device displaying the map; and highlighting a displayed row ofinformation in the table associated with the selected one of theelevation data points.

The method may further include: displaying information associated withthe selected one of the elevation data points adjacent to the selectedone of the elevation data points in the region of the first computingdevice displaying the map.

Displaying information associated with the first set of elevation datapoints and the second set of elevation data points in a table mayinclude displaying information associated with the first set ofelevation data points in a first table, and displaying informationassociated with the second set of elevation data points in a secondtable positioned adjacent to the first table.

Some methods may further include: displaying a grid having a pluralityof gridlines on the map, wherein a spacing between adjacent gridlinesindicates a physical distance associated with the real property.

And these or still other methods may further include: changing thedisplayed region in response to user input indicating a selection of atleast one of a zoom in function or a zoom out function; and changing ascale denoted by the grid on the map.

Displaying the first set and the second set of elevation points on themap may include displaying a first icon type associated with eachelevation data point of the first set of elevation data points, anddisplaying a second icon type associated with each elevation data pointof the second set of elevation data points.

In further embodiments, the present disclosure provides an automationassisted elevation certificate production system that includes a firstcomputing device, an electronic elevation certificate database arrangedto store electronic elevation certificate records associated withrespective real property structures, and an elevation certificateapplication, stored at least partially on one of the first computingdevice and a second computing device. The elevation certificateapplication is configured to: receive a plurality of elevation datapoints, each of the elevation data points indicating an elevation at aparticular location within an area defined between a structure boundaryof a structure on a parcel of real property and a buffer boundary thatsurrounds the structure boundary; determine a first set of the elevationdata points corresponding to a first determined number of the pluralityof elevation data points indicating highest elevations; determine asecond set of the elevation data points corresponding to a seconddetermined number of the plurality of elevation data points indicatinglowest elevations; cause the first computing device to display a map ofa region including the structure; and cause the first computing deviceto display the first set and the second set of elevation data points onthe map.

The elevation certificate application may be further configured to:receive, via the first computing device, a selection of a firstelevation data point among the first set of the elevation data points;receive, via the first computing device, a selection of a secondelevation data point among the second set of the elevation data points;and automatically input elevation data associated with the selectedfirst elevation data point and the selected second elevation data pointinto respective fields indicating a highest adjacent grade (HAG) valueand a lowest adjacent grade (LAG) value of an electronic elevationcertificate record associated with the real property.

The elevation certificate application may be further configured to:cause the first computing device to display information associated withthe first set of elevation data points and the second set of elevationdata points in a table, the information including at least one of theelevation and the particular location of each of the elevation datapoints of the first set and the second set of elevation data points.

The elevation certificate application may be further configured to:receive a selection of one of the elevation data points of the first setof elevation data points or of the second set of elevation data pointsvia user input provided in a region of the first computing devicedisplaying the map; and highlight a displayed row of information in thetable associated with the selected one of the elevation data points.

The elevation certificate application may be further configured to:cause the first computing device to display information associated withthe selected one of the elevation data points adjacent to the selectedone of the elevation data points in the region of the first computingdevice displaying the map.

The elevation certificate application may be further configured to:cause the first computing device to display the information associatedwith the first set of elevation data points in a first table; and causethe first computing device to display the information associated withthe second set of elevation data points in a second table positionedadjacent to the first table.

In still further embodiments, the present disclosure provides anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored contentsthat configure a computing system to perform a method, and the methodincludes: receiving a plurality of elevation data points, each of theelevation data points indicating an elevation at a particular locationwithin an area defined between a structure boundary of a structure on aparcel of real property and a buffer boundary that surrounds thestructure boundary; determining a first set of the elevation data pointscorresponding to a first determined number of the plurality of elevationdata points indicating highest elevations; determining a second set ofthe elevation data points corresponding to a second determined number ofthe plurality of elevation data points indicating lowest elevations;displaying a map of a region including the structure; and displaying thefirst set and the second set of elevation data points on the map.

The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may have storedcontents that configure the computing system to perform the methodfurther including: receiving a selection of a first elevation data pointamong the first set of the elevation data points; receiving a selectionof a second elevation data point among the second set of the elevationdata points; and automatically inputting elevation data associated withthe selected first elevation data point and the selected secondelevation data point into respective fields indicating a highestadjacent grade (HAG) value and a lowest adjacent grade (LAG) value of anelectronic elevation certificate record associated with the realproperty.

Within the electronic elevation certificate production tools and methodsdiscussed in the present disclosure, electronic elevation certificatesare produced, updated, and communicated within a computerized networkenvironment. Known technical problems of accurately and efficientlypreparing electronic elevation certificates are solved by thetechnological innovation presented herein. The innovation described inthe present disclosure is new and useful, and the innovation is notwell-known, routine, or conventional in the electronic elevationcertificate production industry.

The innovation described herein uses both new and known building blockscombined in new and useful ways along with other structures andlimitations to create something more than has heretofore beenconventionally known. The embodiments improve on computing systemswhich, when un-programmed or differently programmed, cannot perform orprovide the specific electronic elevation certificate productionfeatures claimed herein.

The embodiments described in the present disclosure improve upon knownelectronic elevation certificate production processes and techniques.The computerized acts described in the embodiments herein are not purelyconventional and are not well understood. Instead, the acts are new tothe industry. Furthermore, the combination of acts as described inconjunction with the present embodiments provides new information,motivation, and business results that are not already present when theacts are considered separately.

There is no prevailing, accepted definition for what constitutes anabstract idea. To the extent the concepts discussed in the presentdisclosure may be considered abstract, the claims present significantlymore tangible, practical, and concrete applications of said allegedlyabstract concepts. And said claims also improve previously knowncomputer-based systems that generate and populate electronic elevationcertificates.

The embodiments described herein use computerized technology to improvethe technology of electronic elevation certificate production, but thereother techniques and tools remain available to generate electronicelevation certificates. Therefore, the claimed subject matter does notforeclose the whole or even substantial electronic elevation certificateproduction technological area.

These features with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully described hereafter and claimed, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described with referenceto the following drawings, wherein like labels refer to like partsthroughout the various views unless otherwise specified. The sizes andrelative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawnto scale. For example, the shapes of various elements are selected,enlarged, and positioned to improve drawing legibility. The particularshapes of the elements as drawn have been selected for ease ofrecognition in the drawings. One or more embodiments are describedhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automation assisted elevationcertificate production system, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 2A-2C are a flowchart illustrating an automation assistedelevation certificate production method, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a method of determining a highestadjacent grade (HAG) and a lowest adjacent grade (LAG) for a parcel byanalyzing the bare earth classified LiDAR data points associated withthe parcel, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thedisclosure;

FIG. 4A is a plot of elevations near the highest adjacent grade (HAG)determined for an exemplary structure, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4B is a plot of elevations near the lowest adjacent grade (LAG)determined for the same exemplary structure as the plot shown in FIG.4A, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure;

FIGS. 5A-5F, collectively, represent at least one arrangement of knownFEMA Form 086-0-33;

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a plurality of elevation data pointsin a buffer zone surrounding a structure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a screen provided via a graphical user interface(GUI) showing a map region and a table region, as may be provided on adisplay of a user computer device, in accordance with one or moreembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates another screen provided via the GUI shown in FIG. 7,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates another screen provided via the GUI shown in FIG. 7,in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining first andsecond sets of elevation data points corresponding with highestelevations and lowest elevations, respectively, for a property, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosedembodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognizethat embodiments may be without one or more of these specific details,or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances,well-known structures associated with computer systems including clientand server computing systems, as well as networks have not been shown ordescribed in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of theembodiments.

The elevation certificate arrangement of FIGS. 5A-5F is referred to inthe present disclosure. Different sections of the elevation certificateare assigned an alphabetical reference label, and various portions ofeach section (i.e., subsections) are assigned a numerical referencelabel. When the reference labels are used herein, these identifiers arepresented for ease in understanding of the subject matter in the presentdisclosure, and the identifiers are not expressly limiting. For example,the elevation certificate of FIGS. 5A-5F includes subsection A1 toidentify a “Building Owner's Name,” and subsection A2 is included toidentify the “Building Street Address.” In other elevation certificates,a particular building owner name and building street address may havedifferent identifiers or even no identifiers at all. Accordingly, theparticular fields of the elevation certificate of FIGS. 5A-5F areinformative, but not limiting. Additionally, it should be readilyappreciated that the elevation certificate of FIGS. 5A-5F (e.g., asprovided by FEMA Form 086-0-33) is provided as an example elevationcertificate which may be accessed and partially or fully completed bythe various embodiments of systems and methods provided herein. However,embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited by the particularelevation certificate of FIGS. 5A-5F. Instead, it will be readilyappreciated that government forms, such as elevation certificate forms,change over time, and requirements and fields that are included in suchforms change over time. The various embodiments provided herein may beutilized for partially or fully completing any such elevationcertificate forms, including various changes to such forms as may beprovided over time.

Systems and methods described in the present disclosure produce a set ofgeospatial characteristics for a subject property, which are then usedto generate data for a Flood Elevation Certificate. As previouslydescribed herein, the Flood Elevation Certificate may also be referredto as an FEC or simply an elevation certificate. The systems and methodsleverage remote elevation data and measurements (e.g., light detectionand ranging (LiDAR) elevation measurements) with computer assistedon-site inspection to produce elevation certificates in a way that meetsFEMA accuracy standards at higher speed and lower costs than priorapproaches. In at least some cases, FEMA requires geographic accuracywithin six (6) inches. The acceptably high accuracy of LiDAR elevationdata supplants or otherwise supplements the use of expensive groundsurveys. Embodiments of the systems and methods provided herein willgeocode the address for the property of interest, resolve the propertyboundaries, and derive boundaries of the structure that is the subjectof the elevation determination. In these and other embodiments, thesystems and methods will then access and retrieve information from oneor more databases (e.g., a FEMA database) and apply the information todetermine the position of particular property features with respect tothe FEMA flood insurance rate maps where the flood zone type and the BFEfor the property can be determined.

The geospatial characteristics of the property are used to determine alowest adjacent grade (LAG) value, highest adjacent grade (HAG) value,and other values. The LAG and HAG values are required for a properelevation certificate. Additionally, in these or other embodiments,supporting data such as the proximity to the nearest identified waterhazard may be calculated via one or more automated geospatial analysislogic modules.

In addition to the LAG and HAG values, embodiments of the systems andmethods described herein may also identify and capture informationrepresenting the elevation datum and the map projection that areutilized to geolocate the subject property and any selected structureson the subject property. By controlling and verifying the informationrepresenting the datum and map projections, errors introduced throughdatum conversion, utilization of different geospatial references, andthe like may be acceptably reduced or eliminated.

LAG values, HAG values, elevation data, map projection data, and othergeospatial data are stored in a database or some other repository. Insome embodiments, the data is delivered to a local servicerepresentative via one or more software applications running in whole orin part on a mobile computer device, such as a tablet, a mobile phone,or some other computing device. In these cases, the representative maybe in an office, on-site at the property location, or in some otherlocation.

The local service representative is an individual skilled in structuralmeasurements. For example, the local representative may be an on-siteinspector, a claims adjuster, a surveyor, a professional engineer, aconstruction contractor, an underwriting inspector, a technician, aparticular insurance agent, or some other individual who travelsphysically or virtually (e.g., via camera and other sensor equippedmotor vehicle, airborne drone, or the like) to the property location,records observations, and takes one or more particular measurements. Therepresentative may have, but is not required to have, any specific landsurveying knowledge or other such professional skills. That is, byemploying the systems and methods described herein, time consuming landsurvey processes requiring a highly skilled and licensed surveyor orengineer is no longer necessary. Instead, the measurements, calculation,and other surveying skills that had previously been performed on-site bythe skilled professional are now carried out remotely and in advance ofthe on-site inspection.

In some cases, the local service representative travels to the subjectproperty. The representative in these cases is able to access certaininformation associated with the geospatial characteristics of theproperty via a mobile software application operating on a particularuser computer device. The information may include instructions thatdirect the representative in collection of additional data used togenerate an elevation certificate. For example, in some cases, a mobilesoftware application operating on the user computer device guides theon-site representative to make certain measurements and to collect otherinformation helpful for proper completion of the elevation certificate.For example, the mobile software application may guide the local servicerepresentative through a process to measure and capture data associatedwith an area of a flood vent, a measurement from the top floor to thebottom floor, and the like. In some cases, these measurements may bedone automatically via the user computer device. In these or in othercases, the mobile software application may also capture and communicateinformation derived from a camera or some other electro-optical deviceembedded in the user computer device, coupled to the user computerdevice, or otherwise associated with the user computer device. Usingsuch an imaging means, particular measurements may be extracted throughphotogrammetric means and entered into the system by the local servicerepresentative via the mobile software application.

On-site measurements of a selected structure made by the representativemay include a determination of the height of the bottom floor, theheight of a next higher floor, the height of particular features abovegrade, and other like measurements. The on-site measurements may be madeto a particular tolerance such as one tenth of a foot, one tenth of ameter, to a nearest inch, or some other tolerance. The representativemay also be directed to observe, make determinations, and collect otherdata. For example, the representative may determine whether or not theselected structure has a basement, a crawlspace, or some otherbelow-grade, at grade, and above-grade structural elements. Otherstructural and property attributes determined by the representative mayinclude the presence of and particular features (e.g., measurements,locations, and the like) related to service machinery (e.g., furnace,water heater, pump, and the like), garages, carports, other ground-levelnon-living spaces, flood vents or other openings, and the like. In somecases, the representative may also observe or otherwise determine andrecord a construction type of the subject structure, one or moreoverhang distances representing how far a roof overhangs a foundation,and other structural features useful for a proper full-risk ratedetermination.

A mobile software application operating on the user computer device of arepresentative may also provide additional features. For example, insome embodiments, the application includes any one or more of mapsupport to provide driving directions and property identification,measurement tools, notation support, calculation support for area andsquare footage determinations, structure reference diagrams, photocapturing, storage, and the like. Data entered, calculated, andotherwise associated with the mobile software application may then becommunicated to one or more other systems such as an elevationcertificate application stored on a remote computing server. In somecases, data communicated by one or more representatives (i.e., dataassociated with one or more structures on one or more properties) isaccessible by quality assurance personnel or other such personnel forquality assurance, quality control, or quality assurance and qualitycontrol purposes. Such quality-based systems may in some cases beperformed fully or partially by hand. In other cases, the quality-basedsystems are partially or fully automated using, for example, a computingdevice.

Subsequent to one or more certification procedures to affirm the qualityand completeness of the communicated data, the data is certified.Certified data may then be used to automatically complete and documentthe elevation certificate form for the structure of interest. Thecompleted form may be reviewed and authorized (e.g., signed) by alicensed professional such as a surveyor, communicated to a propertyowner or some other customer (e.g., mortgage entity, property managementcompany, or the like), stored in a repository, or acted up in some otherway. In cases where a customer has requested the elevation certificate,one or more processing systems may electronically handle payment. Theone or more processing systems may also electronically directdistribution of fees amongst one or more parties such as the localservice representative.

In addition to supporting on-site inspection, the systems and methodsdescribed herein to determine structure elevation may have utility toinsurance interests, mortgage lenders, and others. Some conventionalentities provide online information identifying, to an insurance companyfor example, whether or not a property is located within a particularflood zone type. In some cases, these entities provide a rough estimateof the ground elevation based on coarse digital elevation models. Whilethe digital elevation models can provide a general idea of propertyelevation, such models are often biased by ditches and other localfeatures that get averaged into the model. For these and other knownreasons, the conventional digital elevation models are incapable ofproviding measurement data that meets elevation certificate standards.

Data collected and stored over time by the systems and methods describedherein contribute to a comprehensive elevation inventory. That is, as agrowing number of properties are analyzed, community-wide data iscollected. The collected community-wide data can be analyzedcomprehensively, and the comprehensive analysis is useful forcatastrophe modeling that supports insurance rating and insurance linkedsecurity issues.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automation assisted elevationcertification production system 100 (referred to hereinafter as “system100”) in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As shownin FIG. 1, the system 100 includes an electronic certificate application120, one or more communication networks 101, 102, one or more usercomputer devices 110, and an electronic elevation certificate database122. The system 100 may further include a parcel database 132, anelevation database 134, a flood hazard layer database 136, a geocodedatabase 138, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), CommunityInformation Services (CIS) databases 140, a map and image database 135,and other data repositories (not shown).

A user computer device 110 is a computing device capable ofcommunicating with, participating with, controlling, directing or beingdirected by, or otherwise accessing the elevation certificateapplication 120 via a communications network 101, 102. The user computerdevice 110 may be, for example, a personal computer, a tablet computer,a smartphone, or the like. The user computer device 110 may be used toby a user to enter building owner information (A1), building addressinformation (A2), building use information (A4), building elevationinformation (C1), and other information (not shown).

Communications networks 101, 102 may utilize one or more protocols tocommunicate via one or more physical networks, including local areanetworks, wireless networks, dedicated communication lines, intranets,the Internet, and the like.

The elevation certificate application 120 is stored at least partiallyon a server computer device 121. In one or more embodiments, theelevation certificate application 120 may be a cloud-based or otherwisedistributed computing application that is stored on, executed from, orotherwise deployed via one or more server computer devices. The servercomputer device 121 includes a processor 123, and the elevationcertificate application 120 may be stored in any transitory ornon-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

The processor 123 may be any one or more computing processor devicesoperable to execute software instructions stored in a transitory ornon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory, toperform the functions of the elevation certificate application 120described herein.

The parcel database 132 may be one or more databases arranged to storeand provide information associating location information (e.g., aproperty address or geocoding information for a property) with one ormore land lots, plots, parcels or other such real property boundaries(referred to herein, collectively, as “parcels”). The information storedin the parcel database and retrieved therefrom may include propertydescription information (A3) and other such information. The parceldatabase 132 may be a searchable database. The parcel database 132 maybe or include one or more private or public databases, and may includeparcel records managed, maintained or otherwise administered by avariety of sources (e.g., city, county, state or any other entity'sparcel databases or other such property records management systems).

The elevation database 134 may be one or more databases arranged tostore and provide elevation information (C2) associated with particulargeographical points. The elevation database 134 may be a searchabledatabase. The elevation database 134 may be or include one or moreprivate or public databases and may include elevation data managed,maintained or otherwise administered by a variety of sources. Forexample, the elevation database 134 may be or include the US InteragencyElevation Inventory, the National Elevation Dataset (NED), the NationalLiDAR Dataset (NLD), or both the NED and NLD. The NED and NLD aremaintained by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and availableto the public. The elevation database may also contain elevation datanot generally available to the public but suitable to the elevationdetermination purposes of the automation assisted elevationcertification production system 100. The elevation information stored inthe elevation database 134 may be, for example, bare earth elevationinformation. The elevation database 134 may further include datacollection date information, which indicates the date of collection ofthe elevation data points, e.g., LiDAR data points.

The flood hazard layer database 136 may be one or more databasesarranged to store and provide flood hazard information associated withparticular geographical points or areas. The flood hazard layer database136 may be a searchable database. The flood hazard layer database 136may be or include one or more private or public databases and mayinclude flood hazard layer data managed, maintained or otherwiseadministered by a variety of sources. For example, the flood hazardlayer database 136 may be or include the National Flood Hazard Layer,which is managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) andavailable to the public. The National Flood Hazard Layer is a digitaldatabase that contains flood hazard mapping data used for elevationcertificate generation and useful to determine the flood zone, baseflood elevation (BFE), floodway status, and other flood hazardinformation for a particular geographic location.

The geocode database 138 may be one or more databases arranged to storeand provide geocoding information associated with particular addressesor other location information. The geocode database 138 may be asearchable database. The geocode database 138 may be or include one ormore private or public databases and may include geocoding informationmanaged, maintained or otherwise administered by a variety of sources.For example, the geocode database 138 may be or include the CensusGeocoder, which is managed by the United States Census Bureau. TheCensus Geocoder database is publicly available and provides approximatecoordinate (latitude/longitude) information for an input address. Anyother geocoding tools, repositories, and the like (e.g., GOOGLEGEOCODING API and related toolset) may also be used. The geocodedatabase 130 may be arranged to provide latitude/longitude information(A5), horizontal datum information (A5), or other geocoding information.

The National Flood Insurance Program Community Information Services(NFIP CIS) database 140 may be one or more databases arranged to storeand provide community status reports or other such information by state,territory, nation, or some other designation. Information stored in theNFIP CIS database 140 may include the names and associatedidentification information associated with communities that participatein the National Flood Program (i.e., NFIP Community Name and CommunityIdentification (CID) Number). Information stored in the NFIP CISdatabase 140 may also include county name information, stateinformation, Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) information, variousimplementation and effective dates, and other like information. The NFIPCIS database 140 may be a searchable database and may be or include oneor more private or public databases.

The map and image database 135 may be one or more databases arranged tostore and provide map and/or image information associated with realproperty structures such as homes, buildings, and the like. The map andimage database 135 may be a searchable database (e.g., by entering aparticular address or geocoding information, the database may output mapand/or image information associated with the address or geocodinginformation), and may be utilized by, integrated with, or provided viaone or more map and/or image services accessible by the elevationcertificate application 120. The map and image database 135 may be orinclude one or more private or public databases and may include imageinformation provided, managed, maintained, or otherwise administered bya variety of sources. For example, the map and image database 135 may beor include information provided by GOOGLE MAPS, or the like. Informationstored in the map and image database 135 may be correlated, orcorrelate-able by the system 100 (e.g., by the elevation certificateapplication 120), with corresponding information in one or more of theadditional databases shown in FIG. 1. For example, the elevationcertificate application 120 may correlate geocoded elevation data (e.g.,elevation points having particular geocoded latitude and longitudecoordinates) stored in the elevation database 134 with correspondinggeocoded information in the map and image database 135. The elevationcertificate application 120 may thus provide a map-like interface,drawing from map and/or image information in the map and image database135, with elevation data points visually displayed (e.g., superimposed)at corresponding positions on the interface.

The electronic elevation certificate database 122 is arranged to storeand provide electronic elevation certificates associated with realproperty structures. In some cases, the electronic elevationcertificates stored in and retrieved from the electronic elevationcertificate database 122 include information along the lines of thatpresented in FIGS. 5A-5F. The electronic elevation certificate database122 may further store and provide one or more electronic elevationcertificate templates. An electronic elevation certificate template maybe, for example, an electronic version of the “Elevation Certificate”provided by FEMA under the National Flood Insurance Program.Representative information stored in such an elevation certificate ispresented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Representative Information In A FEMA Elevation CertificateReference Information A Building Owner's Name/Address Property PropertyDescription & Use Information Latitude/Longitude; Horizontal Datum (NAD1927, NAD 1983) Photographs Crawlspace and Attached Garage Information  square footage   # of permanent flood openings relative to   grade  Total net area of flood openings   Engineered flood openings B NFIPCommunity Name and Number Flood County Name and State InsuranceMap/Panel Number, Suffix Rate Map FIRM Index Date, FIRM Paneleffective/revised (FIRM) date Information Flood Zone(s) Base FloodElevation (BFE) Source of BFE (FIS Profile, FIRM, Other) BFE Elev. Datum(NGVD 1929, NAVD 1988, Other) Coastal Barrier Resource System (CBRS)Data C Basis for Elevation Data (Drawings, Actual Building Structure)Elevation Elevations - Zones (A1-A30, AE, AH, . . . ) Information  Benchmark Utilized; Vertical Datum   Elev. Datum (NGVD 1929, NAVD1988,   Other)   Top of bottom floor (incl. basement, crawlsp,   etc)  Top of next higher floor   Bottom of lowest horizontal structural  member   Attached garage (top of slab)   Lowest elev. of machineryservicing the bldg.   Lowest adjacent grade (LAG) next to bldg.  Highest adjacent grade (HAG) next to bldg. LAG at lowest elev. ofdeck/stairs, incl. support D Certifier's Name/Title/Company, etc.Surveyor, Certifier's License Number Engineer, Date of CertificationArchitect Certification Seal Certif. E Photographs

The electronic elevation certificate template stored, generated,produced, or otherwise utilized in the system 100 may include a varietyof blank fields to be completed using information specific to the realproperty structure for which the elevation certificate is requested.Further, the electronic elevation certificate database 122 may store anynumber of completed or partially completed electronic elevationcertificates; each completed or partially completed electronic elevationcertificate being associated with a particular real property structure.

The automation assisted elevation certification production system 100allows a user of a user computer device 110 to access the elevationcertificate application 120, e.g., via the communication network 101.The elevation certificate application 120 may include or otherwiseprovide a graphical user interface to the user (e.g., a webpage orsimilar access portal) through which the user may input data, viewresults (e.g., completed or partially completed electronic elevationcertificates), or otherwise communicate with or access the functionalityof the elevation certificate application 120. For example, a user of auser computer device 110 may access the elevation certificateapplication 120 and input owner information (A1) and an address (A2)associated with a real property structure for which the user wishes tocomplete an elevation certificate. Cooperatively, the elevationcertificate application 120 may access one or more of the parceldatabase 132, the elevation database 134, the flood hazard layerdatabase 136, the geocode database 138, and the NFIP CIS database 140.The user may be directed, guided, or otherwise inspired to generate ordetermine input values such as measurements for one or more fields in anelevation certificate. Operations directed by the user cause theelevation certificate application 120 to automatically complete orpartially complete an electronic elevation certificate for the subjectstructure.

A mobile elevation certificate application 112 is stored on or otherwiseaccessible with a mobile user computer device 110 such as a tabletcomputer. The mobile elevation certificate application 112 may be usedto access a new, partially completed, or fully completed elevationcertificate, which may be stored in the electronic elevation certificatedatabase 122. The elevation certificate accessed by the mobile elevationcertificate application 112 is directed to a particular structure of areal property. The mobile elevation certificate application 112 mayprovide instructions or prompts which guide the user through a processof reviewing, amending, or otherwise completing the accessed elevationcertificate. For example, the mobile elevation certificate application112 may instruct the user to acquire certain measurements, observations,or other information that is available during an on-site survey of theproperty or structure. In some cases, the mobile elevation certificateapplication 112 facilitates quality procedures automatically, manually,or automatically and manually.

FIGS. 2A-2C, present a flowchart illustrating an automation assistedelevation certificate production method 200 in accordance with one ormore embodiments. The automation assisted elevation certificateproduction method 200 may be performed using the automation assistedelevation certificate system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

At module 201, the method 200 begins when a user (e.g., a customer)initiates an electronic elevation certificate order. The user mayinitiate the order, for example, by using a user computer device 110 toaccess the elevation certificate application 120 via communicationnetwork 101. The access may be via a mobile elevation certificateapplication 112, an Internet browser, or via some other means. The usermay be prompted to provide login credentials or other such authorizationinformation in order to gain access to the elevation certificateapplication 120. In addition, or in the alternative, the user mayprovide such information to gain access to an account associated withthe user. The elevation certificate application 120 may be a web-basedapplication.

At module 202, the user may input information such as a building owner'sname (A1) and an address (A2) that identifies or is otherwise associatedwith a real property structure (e.g., a home, commercial officebuilding, or the like). The user takes this action because the userwishes to complete or otherwise generate a completed elevationcertificate. The elevation certificate application 120 may provide(e.g., via a graphical user interface) an address or propertyidentification field for the user to input the address or otheridentifying information. In some cases, for example, the otheridentifying information may include plat information (A3) maintained bya municipality, a photograph that is electronically matched to aspecific real property structure, a business name, global positioningsystem (GPS) coordinates, or other like information. In this respect, inthe present disclosure, the term “address” is used to identify aparticular real property and structures thereon, but it is recognizedthat the term broadly includes any information used or usable tounambiguously identify the particular real property and its associatedstructures.

Once the address has been provided to the elevation certificateapplication 120, at module 203 the input address may be geocoded.Geocoding information for the address may be determined, for example, bythe elevation certificate application 120 accessing the geocode database138 with reference to the input address. Additionally, the address mayalso be used to retrieve county name and identifier information as wellas other information associated with the National Flood InsuranceProgram from the NFIP CIS database 140. For example, the elevationcertificate application 120 may provide the address to the geocodedatabase 138, which may be, for example, the Census Geocoder or any suchgeocoding database alone or in cooperation with a geocoding service.From the geocode database 138 or other services, an approximate geocodedcoordinate (e.g., latitude and longitude) associated with the address isretrieved.

At module 204, the elevation certificate application 120 accesses theparcel database 132, which may be for example a national parceldatabase, a statewide database, a regional database, or some otherdatabase. The elevation certificate application 120 receives parcelboundaries information from the particular parcel database associatedwith the address information, the geocoding information, of both theaddress and geocoding information associated with the address.

The parcel boundary associated with the address may be determined, forexample, by inputting the address or geocoding information for theaddress into the parcel database 132 and looking up the parcel boundaryassociated with that address. In some cases, the parcel boundary isdefined by parcel vertices (e.g., latitude and longitude coordinatescorresponding to parcel boundary vertices). In this way, the parcelboundaries may be completely determined by connecting the parcelvertices by boundary line segments to form a polygonal parcel boundary.Similarly, the parcel boundary may be defined (e.g., as stored in theparcel database 132) by a complete polygonal parcel boundary that hasbeen determined in some other way. Using the parcel boundaryinformation, parcel vertices may be determined by the elevationcertificate application 120 as desired.

At module 205, the elevation certificate application 120 accesseselevation database 134 and retrieves elevation data associated with thedetermined parcel boundary. The elevation database 134 may be, forexample, a LiDAR database such as the National LiDAR Dataset, and mayinclude LiDAR elevation data associated with geographic pointsthroughout any geographical area (e.g., the United States).Additionally, the elevation database 134 may include LiDAR datacollection date information, which indicates the date of collection ofLiDAR data points. The LiDAR data may be bare earth classified LiDARdata points having elevation data associated with particular geocodedlatitude and longitude coordinates.

In some cases, such as with LiDAR data, a field survey is also performedin cooperation with the data collection. In some cases, the field surveymay include street-side photographs by a data collection operation(e.g., a mapping operation) that is manual or automatic. In these orother cases, the field survey may include human-collected survey data,remote device (e.g., satellite, airborne drone, ground based manuallydriven or driverless vehicle, or the like) collected data, or datacollected in combination or in another way.

Using supplementary data, which may for example be collected by theprovider of the database based on the field survey, one or more accuracyfactors (e.g., a horizontal and vertical accuracy) may be determined.The accuracy factors can be applied to any individual data value (e.g.,LiDAR return) within the database to even further improve the accuracy,reliability, and confidence in the data provided by in the database.

At module 206, the elevation certificate application 120 determines aperimeter of the subject structure. The perimeter, which may also bereferred to as a primary structure boundary, is determined by analyzingthe elevation data (e.g., LiDAR data points) associated with thedetermined parcel boundary. The primary structure may be, for example, aresidential or non-residential structure for which an elevationcertificate is to be completed.

The elevation data stored in the elevation database 134 may be, forexample, bare earth classified LiDAR data points. As an example, theUnited States Geological Survey (USGS) requires LiDAR data points to beclassified into one of several general categories, including bare earth(i.e. uncovered ground) classified data. Thus, by examining only bareearth classified data points associated with a particular parcel, theboundary of a real property structure of interest (e.g., a home, anoffice building, or the like) may be determined as being an area withinthe parcel having an absence of associated bare earth classifiedelevation data points. This is shown in further detail in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a method of determining a highestadjacent grade (HAG) value and a lowest adjacent grade (LAG) value for aparcel by analyzing bare earth classified LiDAR data points associatedwith the parcel. The parcel boundary 302 shown in FIG. 3 may bedetermined, for example, as described at module 204 of the method 200(FIG. 2A). The hundreds, thousands, or more bare earth classified LiDARpoints 304 within the parcel boundary 302 describe the elevation of thebare earth at a plurality of different latitude and longitude points.However, for a substantial measurable area within the parcel boundary302 (i.e., the area within the structure boundary 306), an absence ofbare earth classified LiDAR points 304 are returned for the parcel 302by the elevation database 134. That is, within the structure boundary306, there are no bare earth elevation data points, and thus it isdetermined that there is no bare earth within the area defined by thestructure boundary 306. Other attributes of non-bare earth classifiedpoints, such as height relative to classified bare earth points forexample, may also be utilized to distinguish LiDAR returns associatedwith a structure from LiDAR returns associated with other features, suchas trees.

Accordingly, within the system 100 of FIG. 1, the elevation certificateapplication 120 determines, based on the absence of bare earthclassified LiDAR data points 304, that a primary structure of interestis located at the area within the parcel boundary 302 having noassociated bare earth classified LiDAR data points 304. A structureboundary 306 (i.e., a perimeter of the structure of interest) may thusbe determined by the elevation certificate application 120, for example,by forming a polygon or any other shape that defines a boundary betweena bare earth area (e.g., a portion of the parcel 302 having associatedbare earth classified LiDAR data points) and a non-bare earth area(e.g., the portion of the parcel 302 having no associated bare earthclassified LiDAR data points).

Returning to FIG. 2A, at module 207, the elevation certificateapplication 120 may optionally estimate and record the location of thecentroid (e.g., latitude and longitude) for the structure determined atmodule 206 (e.g., the structure 306 shown in FIG. 3). One of severaltechniques for determining the centroid of a geometric shape, including,for example, geometric decomposition, integral formula, bounded region,and other techniques, may be suitably applied by the elevationcertificate application 120 to determine the centroid of a shape definedby the structure 306. The elevation certificate application 120 mayutilize the parcel vertices, which may be determined, for example, atmodule 204, to calculate an estimated location of the centroid of thestructure 306. The centroid location (e.g., in latitude and longitudecoordinates) may be provided to module 213, which is discussed infurther detail herein.

At module 208, the elevation certificate application 120 determines abuffer zone 308 surrounding the structure 306. The buffer zone 308 mayhave an outer buffer boundary 310 that is spaced apart from thestructure 306 at a fixed, predetermined distance. For example, thebuffer boundary 310 may be defined as extending outwardly from thestructure 306 boundary at a predetermined distance of one meter. Otherpredetermined distances, which in some cases are user configurabledistances, are also recognized. The buffer zone 308 thus defines an areawithin which values representing the highest adjacent grade (HAG) andthe lowest adjacent grade (LAG) may be determined. That is, the highestand lowest adjacent grades refer to points next to, or immediately nextto, or otherwise in a predetermined proximity to the structure 306.

In some cases, the operations of modules 206 to 208 include additionalprocessing to supplement data retrieved from the elevation database 134.That is, the additional processing creates or otherwise generates datathat is useful in the generation of an acceptably accurate elevationcertificate.

In some cases where a roof or a roof portion overhangs an outer wall ofa structure by a significant distance (e.g., more than twelve inches,more than two feet, more than three feet, or more than some otherdistance), the elevation database 134 may not include elevation data(e.g., LiDAR data points) representing the area adjacent to theparticular outer wall of the structure (i.e., data in buffer zone 308).In other cases, vegetation (e.g., trees, large bushes, grape arbors, orthe like), adjacent structures (e.g., car ports, tents, awnings, or thelike), or some other obstacle causes an absence of valuable elevationdata adjacent to a structure or in some other area of interest.

Without additional processing, roof overhangs, porches, patios, shrubs,trees, mechanical equipment platforms, and other such obstacles oftenlead to incorrect HAG/LAG results. These obstacles may prevent orotherwise interfere with a LiDAR data collection system's attempts toobtain data points up against an exterior building wall. A structure'sroof line may block the signal from reaching the ground directlyadjacent to the structure's walls. What's more, since land often slopesaway from a building for proper drainage, or since land elevationincreases if the building is on a hill side, false information may becalculated.

In cases where desirable elevation data is absent, additional processingmay be performed in or more of modules 206-208 to supply the missingdata. The additional processing may include manual or automatic analysisof photographic data, wherein, for example, a trained artificialintelligence engine is used to estimate a roof overhang fromphotographic data (e.g., satellite photographs, drive-by photographs, orother photographs of the subject property). In these cases, theadditional processing may create one or more three dimensional models ofrelevant portions of the structure and its surrounding obstructions.Using the three dimensional models, distances such as roof overhang andheight of an overhang above grade, can be determined as well as compassdirection or relationship to a cardinal direction, and other structuralfeatures that may affect the ability of LiDAR signals to reach the earthand reflect back toward a receiver. Accordingly, data from the threedimensional models may be used to mathematically generate trustedelevation data based on the determined roof overhang and elevation datapoints extrapolated to or otherwise estimated in the unknown area ofinterest. Similar artificial intelligence techniques may also be used togenerate acceptably accurate elevation data associated with decks,vegetation, less-relevant or non-relevant structures (e.g., awnings,carports, arches, and the like). Alternatively, or in addition,human-calculated elevation data may also be generated or otherwiseestimated via observation of the actual structure or associatedphotographic data.

At module 209, the elevation certificate application 120 determines thehighest adjacent grade (HAG) value based on the elevation data pointscorresponding to the area within the buffer zone 308. In some cases, theHAG is determined simply as being the highest elevation point, includingthe latitude/longitude coordinates associated with the highest elevationpoint, within the buffer zone 308. As shown in FIG. 3 by the sorted plot320 of LiDAR elevations adjacent to the structure 306 (i.e., plot ofelevation data points within the buffer zone 308), the HAG 322 may bedetermined as being the highest elevation data point within the bufferzone 308. In the example of FIG. 3, the HAG is about 20.2 feet aboveNAVD88, wherein NAVD88 is the vertical control datum of orthometricheight established for vertical control surveying of the United States.In the present disclosure, the HAG value represents the determined pointof highest adjacent grade, and the terms “HAG” and “HAG value” are usedinterchangeably.

Additionally or alternatively, the elevation certificate application 120may employ various approaches to more accurately or robustly determinethe HAG. For example, a HAG value may be calculated or otherwiseselected after rejecting any elevation data points 304 that may notrepresent the elevation of the finished grade immediately adjacent tothe structure 306. In this technique, the elevation certificateapplication 120 rejects points that substantially differ (e.g., by morethan 10 percent, more than 20 percent, or more than some otherdetermined amount) from the local slope around the structure 306, andthe elevation certificate application 120 determines the HAG based onlyon non-rejected elevation data points 304 within the buffer zone 308.

In FIG. 4A, one approach for rejecting outlier elevation data pointsthat may be employed by the elevation certificate application 120 is toproduce a linear approximation of the high and low local slope withinthe buffer zone 308. FIG. 4A illustrates a plot 410 of elevations nearthe highest adjacent grade (HAG) 411 determined for a differentexemplary structure than the one shown in the example of FIG. 3. Theelevation data point associated with HAG 411 is consistent with thelinear approximation of a local slope 415 (shown as a dashed line) nearthe HAG 411. Thus, in this exemplary technique, the elevationcertificate 120 may determine that the elevation data point associatedwith the HAG 411 value accurately represents the highest adjacent grade,and is not an outlier point which should be rejected. On the other hand,elevation data point 412, while having a higher elevation than thedetermined HAG 411, deviates substantially (i.e., by nearly 30 percentof the range of the local slope 415 in this case) from the linearapproximation of local slope 415. In this approach, the elevation datapoint 412 is rejected from the determination of the highest adjacentgrade.

The elevation certificate application 120 may determine that anelevation data point should be rejected as an outlier data point basedon one or more rules, based on a determination by an artificialintelligence engine, or based on some other mechanism. For example, anelevation data point may be rejected as an outlier data point if itdeviates substantially (e.g., by more than 10 percent, more than 20percent, or more than some other determined amount) from the linearapproximation of the adjacent local slope 415, which may be determinedbased on a comparison-to-nearby-points rule, based on a standarddeviation rule, or based on another rule. Other techniques for rejectingoutlier points may be utilized by the elevation certificate application120, including, for example, developing a micro digital elevation model(DEM) within the buffer zone 308 and calculating flow lines in order toisolate the points best representing the highest adjacent grade (HAG)and the lowest adjacent grade (LAG) of structure 306.

In FIG. 2B at module 210, the elevation certificate application 120determines the lowest adjacent grade (LAG) value based on the elevationdata points corresponding to the area within the buffer zone 308 (FIG.3). In some cases, the LAG value is determined in a similar manner asdescribed herein with respect to determining the HAG value. That is, theLAG may be determined simply as being the lowest elevation point,including the latitude/longitude coordinates associated with the lowestelevation point, within the buffer zone 308. As shown in the sorted plot320 of LiDAR elevations adjacent to the structure 306, the LAG 321 maybe determined as being the lowest elevation data point within the bufferzone 308, which in the example of FIG. 3 is about 17.8 feet above theNAVD88 level. In the present disclosure, the LAG value represents thedetermined point of lowest adjacent grade, and the terms “LAG” and “LAGvalue” are used interchangeably.

Further, the elevation certificate application 120 may reject anyoutlier points within the buffer zone 308 when determining the LAG usingtechniques along the lines of those as described herein with respect todetermining the HAG. For example, the elevation certificate application120 may produce a linear approximation of the low local slope within thebuffer zone 308. This is shown for example in FIG. 4B, which illustratesa plot 420 of elevations near the lowest adjacent grade (LAG) 421. Theelevation data point associated with LAG 421 is consistent with thelinear approximation of local slope 425 (shown as a dashed line) nearthe LAG 421. Thus, the elevation certificate 120 may determine that theelevation data point associated with the LAG 421 accurately representsthe lowest adjacent grade and is not an outlier point which should berejected. The elevation data point 422, however, deviates substantially(i.e., by about 10 percent of the range of the local slope 425 in thiscase) from the linear approximation of local slope 425. In thisapproach, the elevation data point 422 is rejected from thedetermination of the lowest adjacent grade.

In some cases, LAG and HAG values are computed during the creation of aparticular elevation certificate 120. For example, LAG and HAG valuesmay be computed “on the fly” only when an elevation certificate for anindividual property is requested by a customer. Alternatively, two ormore LAG and HAG values may be bulk processed for a database of parcelsor some other group of parcels. In this second case, a database or someother structure of LAG and HAG elevation values may be built and storedin advance. Then, reconsidering the processing flow of FIGS. 2A, 2B at209 and 210, respectively, program flow would retrieving the LAG and HAGvalues stored in the preprocessed structure (e.g., database) rather thancomputing LAG and HAG values on the fly.

At module 212, the elevation certificate application 120 creates anelectronic elevation certificate for the structure 306. The electronicelevation certificate may be created, for example, by first retrieving atemplate electronic elevation certificate from the electronic elevationcertificate database 122. Additional information associated with thestructure 306 is then provided and populated into one or more fields ofthe electronic elevation certificate. For example, at module 212, thehighest adjacent grade (HAG) value determined at module 209 and thelowest adjacent grade (LAG) value determined at module 210 may beentered into an electronic elevation certificate record created for thestructure 306. The electronic elevation certificate may be stored in andretrieved from the electronic elevation certificate database 122.

Referring again to module 204 in FIG. 2A, the parcel database 132 mayinclude property description information associated with the parcel 302(FIG. 3). For example, the parcel database 132 may include a parcel IDnumber, lot and block numbers, tax parcel number, a legal description,and any other such descriptive information associated with the parcel302. This information associated with the parcel 302 may be accessedfrom the parcel database 132 at module 204, and this information may berecorded at module 213. The information may also be provided to theelectronic elevation certificate created for the structure 306 at module212. Further, the location of the structure centroid (e.g., determinedin latitude and longitude coordinates) determined at module 207 may berecorded at module 213, and the centroid location information may beautomatically input by the elevation certificate application 120 intothe electronic elevation certificate record for the structure 306 atmodule 212.

At module 214, the elevation certificate application 120 may access theflood hazard layer database 136 with reference to the geocoded addressinformation or the county information provided at module 203. The floodhazard layer database 136 may be or may include, for example, theNational Flood Hazard Layer, which is a digital database that containsflood hazard mapping data. The National Flood Hazard Layer providesusers with information representative of or otherwise used to determinethe flood zone, base flood elevation (BFE), and floodway status for aparticular geographic location.

By accessing the flood hazard layer database 136, the elevationcertificate application 120 may, at module 215, find and record a mappanel number in the flood hazard layer database 136 that is associatedwith the input geocoded address for the structure 306. Similarly, atmodule 216, the elevation certificate application 120 may find andrecord the base flood elevation (BFE) for the geocoded address for thestructure 306, as provided in the flood hazard layer database 136. And,at module 217, the elevation certificate application 120 may find andrecord flood zone information associated with the input geocoded addressfor the structure 306, as provided in the flood hazard layer database136. Along these lines, at module 229, the elevation certificateapplication 120 may retrieve and record NFIP community name, countyname, and other such information stored in the NFIP CIS database 140.

The map panel number, base flood elevation (BFE), flood zoneinformation, and other information determined at modules 215, 216, 217,and 229, respectively, are automatically input into the electronicelevation certificate record for the structure 306 at module 212.

In FIG. 2C, at module 218, the method 200 may optionally provide anotification to a local service representative that an electronicelevation certificate for a particular structure (e.g., structure 306)is partially completed, or in the process of being completed. Thenotification may be provided to a user computer device 110 through amobile elevation certificate application 112, an Internet browser,electronic mail (i.e., email), or via some other like means.Identification of the property, which may include a real property streetaddress of the structure, for example, may be provided to the localservice representative at module 218. The identification information maybe communicated by any method of electronic communication, including,for example, text message, email, telephone call, or the like.

After the local service representative has received notice that anelectronic elevation certificate for a structure needs to be completed,verified, or otherwise attended to by the local service representative,the local representative may, at module 219, access the partiallycompleted electronic elevation certificate. The partially completedelectronic elevation certificate, which may be stored in the electronicelevation certificate database 122 or in some other repository, may beaccessed via a user computer device 110 utilizing the mobile elevationcertificate application 112 or some other mechanism. The mobileelevation certificate application 112 may be an application stored on orotherwise executed by a user computer device 110. Additionally oralternatively, a user such as the local service representative mayaccess the partially completed electronic elevation certificate byaccessing the elevation certificate application 120 via a user computerdevice 110.

In some embodiments, the mobile elevation certificate application 112 isa module provided by the elevation certificate application 120 for useon a mobile computer device 110. In other embodiments, the mobileelevation certificate application 112 is a separate software applicationthat is stored on or executed by the mobile computer device 110. Themobile elevation certificate application 112 may include a graphicaluser interface that displays a variety of different prompts, messages,or the like in order to guide the local service representative through aprocess of completing the electronic elevation certificate for thestructure 306. For example, an elevation certificate may require certaininformation to be provided that should be obtained on the basis of anon-site inspection. This information may include, for example,determining and recording a building diagram number (at module 220),determining an elevation of the top of the bottom floor (at module 221),determining a number and area or location of flood vents (at module222), determining the lowest elevation of machinery or equipmentservicing the building (at module 223), determining garagecharacteristics associated with the structure 306, such as elevation atthe top of slab (at module 224), and acquiring property images (atmodule 225). Some of this information for inclusion in a electronicelevation certificate may not be available in all cases, and may not beneeded in all cases in order to compile a complete electronic elevationcertificate. For example, the building diagram number may not beavailable in all cases, and determining and recording the buildingdiagram number (at module 220) may be an optional step, that isperformed based on availability of a building diagram number, incompleting the electronic elevation certificate. The mobile elevationcertificate application 112 may also direct the local servicerepresentative in the observation, collection, measurement, or otherwisecapture and entry of any other information useful to generate acompleted elevation certificate.

Utilizing the mobile elevation certificate application 112, and withaccess to the partially completed electronic elevation certificate forthe structure 306 stored in the electronic elevation certificatedatabase 122, the local service representative may visit the site of thestructure 306 and acquire and record the information at modules 220 to225 based on prompts or guidance provided by the mobile elevationcertificate application 112.

At module 226, the information obtained and recorded at one or moremodules, including modules 220 to 225, may be verified and communicatedto a remote computing device. The information may be communicated to theelevation certificate application 120 or some other module operating onthe server computer device 121. The verification operations in module226 may in some cases cooperate with an optional quality control module227. As evident in each of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, portions of theoptional quality control module 227 may cooperatively interact, direct,or be directed by one or more modules of the elevation certificateproduction method 200.

The optional quality control module 227 provides quality assurancefeatures to users and other stakeholders of the elevation certificationproduction system 100. In some cases, the stakeholders confidence in theresults of the system 100 can be determined by examining ancillary dataand statistical results from elevation certificate production method 200processing. Some such results are derived from metadata associated withthe remotely sensed data (e.g., LiDAR data), and in these cases, themetadata provides details regarding the quality of the LiDAR dataset.Others such results may for example be derived from analysis of therecords detailing dates of LiDAR data collection, dates of structureconstruction, dates of photographic data, or other such recordsanalysis. Yet additional quality assurance may result from manual orautomatic machine examination of the LiDAR point cloud and developmentof a three dimensional digital elevation model (DEM) at an acceptable“highest” resolution. In these cases, the manual or automatic machineexamination may be determined or otherwise influenced by the LiDAR pointhorizontal point density.

In other cases, the optional quality control module 227 providesadditional analysis associated with a determined depth of roof overhangas a roof line extends further away from a structure's wall. Certainroof overhang features are described herein with respect to modules206-208, and in cases where generated elevation data is incorrect,incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, then particular LiDAR derivedelevation results can be negatively impacted.

In modules 209 and 210, respectively, of the elevation certificateproduction method 200, Highest Adjacent Grade (HAG) and Lowest AdjacentGrade (LAG) of the ground surrounding a structure of interest aredetermined. It has been determined by the inventors that when LiDAR datadensity is less than two points per square meter, Highest Adjacent Grade(HAG) and Lowest Adjacent Grade (LAG) results may suffer. In at leastsome of these cases, the determined HAG, LAG, or HAG and LAG values willbecome unacceptable. For these reasons, the optional quality controlmodule 227 may provide particular processing to establish one or moredata density thresholds used in the determination of supplementaryelevation data. For example, in one or more embodiments, the elevationcertificate application 120 may compare the LiDAR data density, whichmay be stored in or otherwise accessible from the elevation database134, with a threshold value (e.g., two points per square meter). If theLiDAR data density is equal to or greater than the threshold value, thenthe highest adjacent grade (HAG) value and the lowest adjacent grade(LAG) value may be determined in modules 209, 210, respectively, asdescribed above. On the other hand, if the LiDAR data density is belowthe threshold value, then additional steps may be performed in order tosuitably determine the HAG and LAG values, as will be described infurther detail with respect to FIGS. 7 through 10, below.

In some cases of LiDAR data sets retrieved from the elevation database134, the vertical precision of the data is measured in centimeters. Inother cases, for example where only older or lower quality LiDAR data isavailable, a different vertical precision is recognized. In these cases,it has been determined that HAG and LAG results can be negativelyaffected. That is, generated HAG and LAG information can fall outside ofone or more accuracy requirements (e.g., six (6) inches, 12 inches, oranother distance) designated by a government agency (e.g., FEMA). Inthese cases, the optional quality control module 227 may report thehorizontal point density and vertical precision of LiDAR data used forthe HAG and LAG calculations and decide whether the calculations requirefurther investigation by a human analyst. In the alternative, or inaddition, the human analyst, the local representative, or another personmay be notified via verification module verify 226.

Another quality assurance test that may be performed by the optionalquality control module 227 is an analysis of one or more buildingconstruction dates against a LiDAR dataset published date. The buildingconstruction date may be included, for example, as property descriptioninformation stored in the parcel database 132 and may be recorded atmodule 213 as shown in FIG. 2B. In one or more embodiments, theelevation certificate application 120 compares the building constructiondate (e.g., as may be determined at module 213) with the LiDAR datacollection date. The LiDAR data collection date may be included, forexample, in the elevation database 134, and the LiDAR data collectiondate may indicate dates that particular LiDAR data points werecollected. The LiDAR data collection date may be accesses from varioussources, e.g., a schedule of data collection that may be published by agovernment source, such as the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) or anyother government or non-government source or agency. If the LiDAR datawas collected before the building was finished, or if other constructionhas been performed, one or more calculations executed by the elevationcertificate production method 200 may be invalid or otherwise deemedunacceptable. In these cases, the optional quality control module 227may alert a local representative, collect additional data, or take someother action.

Yet one more quality assurance test optionally performed includes arecognition that retrieved elevation data is of low quality or otherwisehas a reduced reliability. For example, certain LiDAR data sets areprovided with point classifications, and other LiDAR data sets are not.These point classifications may, for example, declare each point in adataset to be a building, bare earth, vegetation, water, or some otherstate. When the optional quality control module 227 determines that theelevation data is unclassified, the module 227 may search for and findappropriate classifications. In other cases, the module 227 willmanually or automatically generate these items. In still other cases,the module 227 will notify a user.

In some cases, the optional quality control module 227 workscooperatively with any one or more of the modules of the elevationcertificate production method 200 to generate, evaluate, and act on aconfidence score. In some cases, for example, a “perfect” confidencescore is loaded during initialization of the elevation certificateproduction method 200. This initial confidence score may for example be1000, 100, or some other value. During subsequent processing, variousones of the elevation certificate production method 200 modules may actto reduce or increase the confidence score. If the confidence scorefalls below a determined threshold, the optional quality control module227 may alert a user, perform additional analysis or quality processing,or take some other action. In some cases, module 227 is arranged toevaluate and take action according to a plurality of differentconfidence score thresholds.

Verification at module 226 may complete processing, for example, bydisplaying the information input at various modules such as modules 220to 225. The display may be presented to the local servicerepresentative, and the representative may be provided with a prompt toconfirm or otherwise verify that the information input to the electronicelevation certificate or otherwise presented is accurate.

After verification, the information obtained at modules 220 to 225 maybe provided into the electronic elevation certificate created for thestructure 306 at module 212, thereby completing the electronic elevationcertificate.

At module 228, the completed electronic elevation certificate for thestructure 306 is stored as a completed certificate in the electronicelevation certificate database 122. An electronic version of theelevation certificate (e.g., a portable document format (PDF) document)may be generated and electronically delivered to a surveyor, engineer,architect, or other like professional (e.g., through the system 100 toan associated user computer device 110) for signature and certification.In addition, or in the alternative, the electronic version of theelevation certificate may be delivered to a user that requested theelevation certificate. The delivery to the user may be before theelevation certificate is signed by a licensed professional, after theelevation certificate is signed by the licensed professional, or bothbefore and after the elevation certificate is signed by the licensedprofessional. Additionally, the elevation certificate application 120may provide an invoice for payment by the user after the elevationcertificate has been completed.

Another approach for determining the HAG value and the LAG value, forexample, at modules 209 and 210 of FIGS. 2A and 2B, respectively, willbe described below with reference to FIGS. 6 through 10.

FIG. 6 illustrates a structure with a plurality of associated elevationdata points in a buffer zone surrounding the structure. A first portion610 of the elevation data points may correspond to a feature, such as anair conditioning unit located on a side of the structure in the bufferzone. A second portion 620 of the elevation data points may correspondto various objects positioned on a side of the structure in the bufferzone, such as plants, an outdoor grill, outdoor furniture, a trashreceptacle, or the like. Depending on the density of the elevation datapoints surrounding the structure, elevation data points from the firstand second portions 610, 620 of elevation data points may erroneously bedetermined as corresponding to the HAG or LAG values. For example, ifmultiple neighboring elevation data points are recorded on or around anair conditioning unit or other object (e.g., as shown by the firstportion 610 of elevation data points), then the elevation certificateapplication 120 may not appropriately reject these elevation data pointsin the determination of the HAG/LAG. In such a case, manual inspectionby a user of the system 100 may be desirable in order to confirm orreject a particular elevation data point as corresponding with the HAGor LAG surrounding a structure. In particular, if the density of theelevation data points (e.g., LiDAR data) is below a threshold value(e.g., two points per square meter), then additional steps includingmanual inspection by the user may be performed in order to suitablydetermine the HAG and LAG values, as will be described in further detailwith respect to FIGS. 7 through 10, below.

FIG. 7 illustrates a graphical user interface (GUI) 700 which may beprovided to a user of the system 100. For example, the GUI 700 may beprovided via the mobile elevation certificate application 112 using auser computer device 110. As shown in FIG. 7, the GUI 700 may provide amap 732 in a first region of a display of the user computer device 110,and may provide a table 734 in a second region of the display.

The map 732 may display imagery of properties and/or structures as maybe obtained, for example, from the map and image database 135. Forexample, the map 732 may display an aerial or satellite view of a regionof interest, such as a neighborhood, a specific parcel, a specificstructure, or the like. The map 732 may be manipulated by a user, suchthat a user may selectively change the displayed map and/or imageinformation as desired. For example, the GUI 700 may provide a userinput field (not shown) that allows a user to input a particular regionof interest (e.g., a city, region, building name, address, street,geocoded coordinates, etc.) and the map 732 will display map and/orimage information associated with the input region of interest. Further,once a particular map 732 is displayed, a user may manipulate the map,causing the map to change to a different displayed region. For example,the user may provide input, such as a tap, double-tap, swipe, gesture orother user interface (e.g., touchscreen) input, causing the displayedregion of the map to change, for example, by moving to an adjacentregion, zooming-in, zooming-out, or the like.

Elevation data points, which may be retrieved from the elevationdatabase 134, corresponding to the region displayed in the map 732 aredisplayed in the map 732, and may be superimposed in their respectivelocations on the image displayed in the map 732.

The map and/or image information displayed in the map 732 may further becorrelated with parcel boundary information, structure boundaryinformation, and/or buffer zone information, as may be obtained,generated or otherwise accessed by the elevation certificate application120 or mobile elevation certificate application 112, for example, asdescribed herein. Each of the parcel boundaries or structures shown onthe map 732 may be selectable by a user.

As shown in FIG. 7, when a particular parcel boundary 732 has beenselected, elevation data points within a buffer zone surrounding thestructure 706 in the parcel will be displayed in the map 732. All otherelevation data points associated with regions displayed in the map 732may be suppressed, i.e., not displayed. That is, in some embodiments,only the elevation data points associated with the buffer zonesurrounding the structure within a selected parcel may be displayed inthe map 732.

In one or more embodiments, only a determined number of elevation datapoints corresponding to the highest and lowest elevation data points inthe buffer zone surrounding the structure 706 may be displayed on themap 732, as shown in FIG. 7. For example, the map 732 may display onlythe ten highest elevation data points (shown in FIG. 7 as circles withstippling) and the ten lowest elevation data points (shown in FIG. 7 ascircles with hatching) surrounding the structure 706 within the selectedparcel boundary 702. All other elevation data points associated with thebuffer zone may be suppressed such that they are not displayed in themap 732. Although FIG. 7 illustrates the ten highest and the ten lowestelevation data points with stippling and hatching, respectively, the GUI700 may display these elevation data points in any way such that aselected number of highest elevation data points are visuallydiscernable from a selected number of lowest elevation data points. Forexample, each of the ten highest elevation data points may be indicatedby points or icons that are identifiable, for example, by a first color.Similarly, each of the ten lowest elevation data points may be indicatedby points or icons that are identifiable, for example, by a secondcolor.

The determination of the ten highest elevation data points and the tenlowest elevation data points may be performed, for example,automatically by the elevation certificate application 120 or mobileelevation certificate application 112 upon selection of a particularparcel or structure by a user. The elevation certificate application 120or mobile elevation certificate application 112 may, for example, sortall elevation data points within a determined buffer zone of a structureto determine the ten highest and ten lowest elevation data points, aswell as geocoded location information associated with each of thedetermined ten highest and ten lowest elevation data points.

The elevation certificate application 120 or mobile elevationcertificate application 112 may be configured to determine geocodinginformation identifying, for example, locations corresponding to the tenhighest elevation data points in an order from the highest elevationvalue first and then corresponding to the next highest elevation value,and so on until such time as the elevation data points having the tenhighest elevation values have been identified in an order from thehighest elevation value to the tenth highest elevation value. Similarly,the elevation certificate application 120 or mobile elevationcertificate application 112 may determine the locations corresponding tothe ten lowest elevation values in an order from the lowest elevationvalue first and then the next lowest value, and so on until such time asthe elevation data points having the ten lowest elevation values havebeen identified in an order from the lowest elevation value to the tenthlowest elevation value.

Each of the elevation data points displayed in the map 732 (e.g., eachof the ten highest and the ten lowest elevation data points) may have alabel 736 associated with its location on the map 732. For example, thelabel 736 for a particular elevation data point may be positionedadjacent to the elevation data point. In FIG. 7, only one label 736 isshown adjacent to an elevation data point. This is merely forconvenience, and it should be readily appreciated that each of theelevation data points displayed on the map 732 may have an associatedlabel 736. The label 736 may indicate, for example, a relative positionor ranking of the elevation data point in relation to the otherelevation data points. For example, the label 736 may be a numericallabel that indicates that the elevation data point is the highest, thesecond highest, the third lowest, etc. The labels 736 for the tenhighest elevation data points may be, for example, a number from one toten shown in a first color, while the labels 736 for the ten lowestelevation data points may be, for example, a number from one to tenshown in a second color.

The GUI 700 may display information related to the ten highest elevationdata points and the ten lowest elevation data points in the table 734provided in the second region of the display, which may be positionedadjacent to the map 732 and displayed on a portable or mobile usercomputing device 110.

The table 734 may be provided as two separate or otherwise identifiabletables having rows and columns. For example, the identified ten highestelevation data points may be listed in a first sub-table 741. Theidentified ten highest elevation data points may be listed in the firstsub-table 741 in any ordered or non-ordered sequence. In someembodiments, the identified ten highest elevation data points may belisted in the first sub-table 741 in an order that is based on thephysical location of the identified elevation data points, e.g., withthe first through tenth highest elevation data points defining a paththat the user may travel during the on-site inspection. In otherembodiments, the identified ten highest elevation data points may belisted in the first sub-table 741 in an order with the highest elevationdata value displayed in a row at the top of the first sub-table 741, thenext highest elevation data value listed in a row below the highestelevation data value, and so on until all ten of the highest elevationdata values have been identified and are displayed in the firstsub-table 741 in an order from highest to lowest listed from top tobottom of the first sub-table 741.

Similarly, the ten lowest elevation data points may be listed in asecond sub-table 742, which may be displayed beneath the first sub-table741. The identified ten lowest elevation data points may be listed inthe second sub-table 742 in any ordered or non-ordered sequence. Forexample, the identified ten lowest elevation data points may be listedin the second sub-table 742 in an order that is based on the physicallocation of the identified elevation data points, or in an order withthe lowest elevation data value displayed in a first row at the top ofthe second sub-table 742, the next lowest elevation data value listed ina second row below the first row, and so on until all ten of the lowestelevation data values have been identified and are displayed in thesecond sub-table 742 in an order from lowest to highest listed from topto bottom of the second sub-table 742.

Accordingly, each of the rows of the table 734, including the first andsecond sub-tables 741, 742, may correspond to an identified elevationdata point. Each of the columns of the table 741 may indicate particularinformation associated with the identified elevation data points. Forexample, one of the columns (e.g., the columns labeled “HAG ID” and “LAGID”) may include the label 736 for the identified elevation data point,which may indicate the position or ranking of the elevation data pointin relation to the other elevation data points (e.g., the second lowest,third highest, etc.). The columns may further include geographiccoordinates associated with the identified elevation data points. Forexample, a column (e.g., the column labeled “X”) may be provided thatincludes the latitude of each identified elevation data points, andanother column (e.g., the column labeled “Y”) may include the longitudeof each identified elevation data points. Yet another column (e.g., thecolumn labeled “Z”) may include the identified elevation associated witheach of the elevation data points.

A user-selectable element 750 may be provided in another column (e.g.,the column labeled “Off/On”), with each of the user-selectable elements750 being associated with a particular identified elevation data pointin the table 734. The user-selectable element 750 may be anyuser-selectable element capable of indicating a user selection via theGUI 700, and may be, for example, a graphically displayed button, atoggle, a slider, or the like. The user-selectable element 750 may beselected by any user input mechanism, including, for example, by a touchfrom a user on a touchscreen.

The GUI 700 may provide a means for referencing a first object from asecond object. For example, the referencing means may include a “grid”within the map 732 for measuring purposes. The grid is composed ofgridlines 752 which may be provided in intersecting directions, e.g., inhorizontal and vertical directions as shown in FIG. 7. The grid mayoverlay the images shown in the map 732, e.g., the parcels, structures,etc. The grid may further be provided in scalable increments, such thata relative spacing or other “scale” between gridlines 752 changes as theuser manipulates the map 732, e.g., by zooming in or out. A legend, suchas scale 754, may be provided on the map 732 to indicate a physicaldistance denoted by the spacing between adjacent gridlines 752.

The grid may aid a user of a portable user computer device 110 inidentifying the physical or visible location of the highest and lowestelevation data points in relation to an identifiable mark, such as acorner point of the structure 706. This measuring method will assist thelocal service representative in identifying the physical location ofeach of the identified highest and lowest elevation data points. Thisfacilitates identification by the local service representative of theHAG and LAG points, from one of the identified highest and lowestelevation data points, located between the structure boundary and thebuffer boundary of the structure.

Referring to FIG. 8, each of the elevation data points shown in the map732 may be selectable by a user. For example, as the local servicerepresentative moves a cursor or otherwise provides input, such as by atouch on a touchscreen of the portable user computing device 110 over aparticular elevation data point shown in the map 732 and identified inthe table 734, an interactive selection feature is instantiated. Theinteractive selection feature may be arranged, for example, as adisplayed “pop-up” 762 or similar feature that provides additionalinformation about the elevation data point. The additional informationmay represent the location of the elevation data point, the elevation ofthe elevation data point, or any other information associated with theelevation data point. Additionally, when a particular elevation datapoint in the map 732 is selected, e.g., by scrolling over the point witha cursor or by touching the point on a touchscreen, a particular row 764associated with that particular elevation data point may be highlightedin the table 734. Accordingly, the user may be provided with aconvenient mechanism to view the additional information associated withthe elevation data point as provided in the table 734, such asgeographic coordinates, elevation information, etc.

The local service representative may utilize the GUI 700, for example,to identify the HAG and LAG points for a particular property byselecting one of the identified ten highest elevation data points as theHAG point, and selecting one of the identified ten lowest elevation datapoints as the LAG point. This facilitates accurate identification of theHAG and LAG points, and removes or reduces error which may be caused,for example, by elevation data points that are not actually associatedwith the bare earth surrounding a structure 706, but are insteadassociated with an object near the structure 706. For example, theidentified highest elevation data point may be an elevation data pointthat indicates an elevation of an object 756 adjacent to the boundary ofthe structure 706 (FIG. 7). This elevation data point should not beutilized as the HAG point, since it does not accurately indicate thehighest adjacent grade for the property.

The local service representative may thus visually inspect (e.g., byonsite visit, by examination of digital image data, or the like) thephysical locations identified by the ten highest and ten lowestelevation data points to confirm or otherwise select the appropriate HAGand LAG points for the property. For example, the local servicerepresentative may inspect the identified highest elevation data point,and the identified lowest elevation data point, to confirm or denywhether such points should be entered as the HAG and LAG points,respectively. If the local service representative does not agree thatthe identified highest and lowest elevation data points accuratelyindicate the HAG and LAG points, respectively, the servicerepresentative may then decline that point and move to the next highestand next lowest elevation data points to inspect those points aspotential HAG and LAG points. The service representative may determinethat the identified highest and lowest elevation data points do notaccurately represent the HAG and LAG points for various reasons. Forexample, the identified elevation data points may be associated with anobject rather than bare earth, the elevation data associated with theelevation data points may be inaccurate, or there may be some otherproblem or issue with the identified elevation data points.

If the local service representative declines the first point on thetable 734 (e.g., the highest elevation data point or the lowestelevation data point) as representing the HAG or LAG point, then thelocal representative will move to the next point on the table 734 andrepeat the process until acceptable elevation data points have beenidentified that correspond with the HAG and LAG points and their numericvalues and locations that the local service representative determinesare “best.”

In some embodiments, the HAG and LAG points are provided in the table734 in an order that is based on the physical locations of theidentified ten highest elevation data points and the identified tenlowest elevation data points, e.g., with the identified elevation datapoints defining a path that the user may travel during the on-siteinspection. In such embodiments, the local service representative maystart with a first identified highest or lowest elevation data point,and may accept or decline that point as properly representing the HAG orLAG point, and may then move on to the next identified elevation datapoints until HAG and LAG points have been identified for the property.

As shown in FIG. 9, once the local service representative has determinedelevation data points that appropriately represent the HAG and LAGpoints, those points may be selected, for example, by user input in theuser-selectable element 750, such as by sliding a slider featureassociated with the particular elevation data points in the table 734.In the example shown in FIG. 9, the user has selected the identifiedseventh highest elevation data point as being the appropriate HAG point,and the identified fourth lowest elevation data point as being theappropriate LAG point. Once these points have been selected, all of theother elevation data points may be removed from the map 732, such thatonly the selected points corresponding with the HAG and LAG points aredisplayed, as shown in FIG. 9. In some cases, the elevation data pointsare removed from the display and retained in a memory so that the datapoints may be later reproduced or analyzed.

After selection of the elevation data points that represent the HAG andLAG points, for example as determined by the user and selected using aportable user computing device, then the elevation certificateapplication 120 or mobile elevation certificate application 112 willautomatically insert the elevation values associated with the HAG andLAG points in the appropriate HAG and LAG locations in the electronicelevation certificate, as may be stored in the electronic elevationcertificate database 122. For example, the elevation of the HAG and LAGpoints may automatically be inserted by the elevation certificateapplication 120 or mobile elevation certificate application 112 infields of the electronic elevation certificate corresponding to, forexample, the fields provided at C2 f) and g) in Section C of the FEMAForm 086-0-33 (shown in FIG. 5B). The electronic elevation certificatefor the property may have already been partially completed, with HAG andLAG points being uncompleted until such time that a servicerepresentative visually inspects the property onsite to determine theappropriate HAG and LAG points.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of determining first andsecond sets of elevation data points corresponding with highestelevations and lowest elevations, respectively, for a property, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

At block 1002, the method includes receiving a plurality of elevationdata points. The plurality of elevation data points may be received, forexample, by the elevation certificate application 120 or by the mobileelevation certificate application 112. Each of the elevation data pointsindicate an elevation at a particular location within an area definedbetween a structure boundary of a structure on a parcel of real propertyand a buffer boundary that surrounds the structure boundary.

At block 1004, a first set of the elevation data points are determinedthat indicate highest elevations. For example, the elevation certificateapplication 120 or the mobile elevation certificate application 112 maydetermine the first set of elevation data points corresponding to afirst determined number of the plurality of elevation data pointsindicating highest elevations. For example, the ten highest elevationdata points may be determined at block 1004.

At block 1006, a second set of the elevation data points are determinedthat indicate lowest elevations. For example, the elevation certificateapplication 120 or the mobile elevation certificate application 112 maydetermine the second set of elevation data points corresponding to asecond determined number of the plurality of elevation data pointsindicating lowest elevations. For example, the ten lowest elevation datapoints may be determined at block 1006.

At block 1008, a map of a region of interest is displayed. For example,a portable user computer device 110 may display a map showing an areathat includes the structure.

At block 1010, the first and second sets of elevation data points aredisplayed on the map. For example, the first and second sets ofelevation data, corresponding to a first selectable number (e.g., ten)highest and a second selectable number (e.g., ten) lowest elevation datapoints, respectively, may be displayed on the portable user computerdevice 110 in positions that correspond to their respective locationswith respect to the region shown in the map. A local servicerepresentative may then select appropriate HAG and LAG points from thedisplayed sets of elevation data.

Certain words and phrases used in the present disclosure are set forthas follows. The terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivativesthereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term “or,” is inclusive,meaning and/or. The phrases “associated with” and “associatedtherewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, beincluded within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within,connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperatewith, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have,have a property of, or the like. Other definitions of certain words andphrases are provided throughout this patent document. Those of ordinaryskill in the art will understand that in many, if not most instances,such definitions apply to prior as well as future uses of such definedwords and phrases.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” and variations thereof means that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentis included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of thephrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various placesthroughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, orcharacteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singularforms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term “or”is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the contentclearly dictates otherwise.

The headings and Abstract of the Disclosure provided herein are forconvenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of theembodiments.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, user computer devices 110 may be coupledthrough one or more communication networks 101, 102 to a server computerdevice 121. In other cases, the user computer devices 110 may operatewith features of a server computer device 121, and in such cases, theelevation certificate application 120 may be contained in a singlecomputing device such as a user computer device 110. For simplicity,embodiments are described herein in the context of server computerdevice 121, but it is understood that such embodiments could also becarried out within a single user computer device 110.

In addition to the structures expressly illustrated in the non-limitingembodiment of user computer devices 110 and server computer device 121in FIG. 1, the computing devices also includes operative hardware foundin a conventional computing apparatus such as one or more processingunits (e.g., processor 123), communication port modules, serial andparallel input/output (I/O) modules compliant with various standards andprotocols, wired and/or wireless networking modules (e.g., acommunications transceiver), multimedia input and output modules, andthe like.

A processor (i.e., a processing unit), as used in the presentdisclosure, refers to one or more processing units individually, shared,or in a group, having one or more processing cores (e.g., executionunits), including central processing units (CPUs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), microprocessors, micro controllers, state machines,execution units, and the like that execute instructions.

As known by one skilled in the art, the computing devices describedherein have one or more memories to store data and processor-executableinstructions such as the mobile elevation certificate application 112and the elevation certificate application 120. In the presentdisclosure, memory may be used in one configuration or another. Thememory may be configured to store data. In the alternative or inaddition, the memory may be a non-transitory computer readable medium(CRM) wherein the CRM is configured to store instructions executable bya processor. The instructions may be stored individually or as groups ofinstructions in files. The files may include functions, services,libraries, and the like. The files may include one or more computerprograms or may be part of a larger computer program. Alternatively orin addition, each file may include data or other computational supportmaterial useful to carry out the computing functions of the systems,methods, and apparatus described in the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates portions of a non-limiting embodiment of a usercomputing device 110, and a server computing device 121. When soarranged as described herein, each computing device may be transformedfrom a generic and unspecific computing device to a combination devicecomprising hardware and software configured for a specific andparticular purpose. The combination device, when employed as describedherein, provides improvements to flood risk estimating technology,insurance technology, real property purchase planning technology, andmany other technologies. Computing devices 110, 121 include operativehardware found in a conventional computing apparatus such as one or morecentral processing units (CPUs), volatile and non-volatile memory,serial and parallel input/output (I/O) circuitry compliant with variousstandards and protocols, and/or wired and/or wireless networkingcircuitry (e.g., a communications transceiver).

As known by one skilled in the relevant art, a computing device has oneor more memories, and each memory comprises any combination of volatileand non-volatile computer-readable media for reading and writing.Volatile computer-readable media includes, for example, random accessmemory (RAM). Non-volatile computer-readable media includes, forexample, read only memory (ROM), magnetic media such as a hard-disk, anoptical disk drive, a flash memory device, a CD-ROM, and/or the like. Insome cases, a particular memory is separated virtually or physicallyinto separate areas, such as a first memory, a second memory, a thirdmemory, etc. In these cases, it is understood that the differentdivisions of memory may be in different devices or embodied in a singlememory.

The computing devices (e.g., user computer devices 110 and servercomputer device 121) further include operative software found inconventional computing devices such as an operating system, softwaredrivers to direct operations through the I/O circuitry, networkingcircuitry, and other peripheral component circuitry. In addition, thecomputing devices may include operative application software such asnetwork software for communicating with other computing devices,database software for building and maintaining databases, and taskmanagement software for distributing the communication and/oroperational workload amongst various (CPUs). In some cases, thecomputing devices used herein are a single hardware machine having thehardware and software listed herein, and in other cases, the computingdevices are a networked collection of hardware and software machinesworking together in a server farm to execute the functions of theautomation assisted elevation certificate production system 100. Theconventional hardware and software of the computing devices discussedherein (e.g., user computer devices 110 and server computer device 121)is not shown for simplicity.

As used in the present disclosure, the term “module” refers to anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, aprocessor and a memory operative to execute one or more software orfirmware programs, combinational logic circuitry, or other suitablecomponents (hardware, software, or hardware and software) that providethe functionality described with respect to the module. Several programmodules are stored within one or more of the memory structures describedherein. The program modules present executable instructions to the oneor more processors described herein to carry out the features of one orboth of the mobile elevation certificate application 112 and theelevation certificate application 120.

FIGS. 2A-2C are a flowchart illustrating an automation assistedelevation certificate production method 200 that may be used byembodiments of the computing devices that implement the automationassisted elevation certificate production system 100 described herein.In this regard, each described process (or each described module withina described process) may represent a subroutine, segment, or portion ofcode, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat in some implementations, the functions noted in the process mayoccur in a different order, may include additional functions, may occurconcurrently, and/or may be omitted.

In the foregoing description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various disclosedembodiments. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognizethat embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specificdetails, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In otherinstances, well-known structures associated with electronic andcomputing systems including client and server computing systems, as wellas networks, have not been shown or described in detail to avoidunnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to providefurther embodiments. These and other changes can be made to theembodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, inthe following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limitthe claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specificationand the claims, but should be construed to include all possibleembodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by thedisclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for displaying elevation datarelating to and facilitating generation of a standardized elevationcertificate on a graphical user interface of a first computing device,the method comprising; receiving, by an elevation certificateapplication hosted at least partially on a server computer device, aplurality of elevation data points, each of the elevation data pointsindicating an elevation at a particular location within a buffer zonedefined between a structure boundary of a structure on a parcel of realproperty and a buffer boundary that surrounds the structure boundary;determining a first set of the elevation data points corresponding to anordered plurality of highest elevations; determining a second set of theelevation data points corresponding to an ordered plurality of lowestelevations; via the graphical user interface: presenting arepresentation of the structure on a map; displaying a first selectableplurality of locations in the buffer zone surrounding the structurerepresented on the map, each location in the first selectable pluralitycorresponding to one of the ordered plurality of highest elevations;displaying a second selectable plurality of locations in the bufferzone, each location in the second selectable plurality corresponding toone of the ordered plurality of lowest elevations; omitting from displayvia the graphical user interface locations of at least some of theplurality of elevation data points in the buffer zone while displayingthe first and second selectable pluralities of locations in the bufferzone; accepting a first user selection of one of the first selectableplurality of locations; accepting a second user selection of one of thesecond selectable plurality of locations; and in response to the firstuser selection and the second user selection, automatically inputtingelevation data associated with a first elevation data point representedby the first user selection and a second elevation data pointrepresented by the second user selection into respective fieldsindicating a highest adjacent grade (HAG) value and a lowest adjacentgrade (LAG) value of the standardized elevation certificate.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein a same number of the first selectableplurality of locations and the second selectable plurality of locationsare displayed.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the same number is 10.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying the firstselectable plurality of locations with visually different propertiesthan the second selectable plurality of locations.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 wherein accepting a first user selection of one of the firstselectable plurality of locations includes receiving a user input via afirst user-selectable element provided on the display, and accepting asecond user selection of one of the second selectable plurality oflocations includes receiving a user input via a second user-selectableelement provided on the display.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: displaying, on the first computing device, informationassociated with the first set of elevation data points and the secondset of elevation data points in a table, the information including atleast one of the elevation and the particular location of each of theelevation data points of the first set and the second set of elevationdata points.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving aselection of one of the elevation data points of the first set ofelevation data points or of the second set of elevation data points viauser input provided in a region of the first computing device displayingthe map; and highlighting a displayed row of information in the tableassociated with the first user selection or the second user selection.8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: displaying informationassociated with a selected one of the elevation data points adjacent tothe selected one of the elevation data points in the region of the firstcomputing device displaying the map.
 9. The method of claim 6 whereindisplaying information associated with the first set of elevation datapoints and the second set of elevation data points in a table includes,displaying information associated with the first set of elevation datapoints in a first table, and displaying information associated with thesecond set of elevation data points in a second table positionedadjacent to the first table.
 10. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: displaying a grid having a plurality of gridlines on themap, wherein a spacing between adjacent gridlines indicates a physicaldistance associated with the real property.
 11. The method of claim 10,further comprising: changing a displayed region of the map in responseto user input indicating a selection of at least one of a zoom infunction or a zoom out function; and changing a scale denoted by thegrid on the map.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying the firstand second selectable pluralities of locations on the map includesdisplaying a first icon type associated with each location of the firstselectable plurality of locations, and displaying a second icon typeassociated with each location of the second selectable plurality oflocations.
 13. An automation assisted elevation certificate productionsystem, comprising: a first computing device; an electronic elevationcertificate database arranged to store electronic elevation certificaterecords associated with respective real property structures; and anelevation certificate application, stored at least partially on one ofthe first computing device and a second computing device, the elevationcertificate application being configured to: receive a plurality ofelevation data points, each of the elevation data points indicating anelevation at a particular location within a buffer zone defined betweena structure boundary of a structure on a parcel of real property and abuffer boundary that surrounds the structure boundary; determine a firstset of the elevation data points corresponding to a first determinednumber of the plurality of elevation data points indicating highestelevations; determine a second set of the elevation data pointscorresponding to a second determined number of the plurality ofelevation data points indicating lowest elevations, a total number ofthe first and second sets of the elevation data points being less than anumber of the received plurality of elevation data points; cause thefirst computing device to display a map of a region including thestructure; cause the first computing device to display the first set andthe second set of elevation data points on the map; cause the firstcomputing device to omit from display at least some of the plurality ofelevation data points in the buffer zone while displaying the first andsecond sets of elevation data points; receive, via the first computingdevice, a selection of a first elevation data point among the first setof the elevation data points; receive, via the first computing device, aselection of a second elevation data point among the second set of theelevation data points; and automatically input elevation data associatedwith the selected first elevation data point and the selected secondelevation data point into respective fields indicating a highestadjacent grade (HAG) value and a lowest adjacent grade (LAG) value of anelectronic elevation certificate record associated with the realproperty.
 14. The system of claim 13, the elevation certificateapplication being further configured to: cause the first computingdevice to display information associated with the first set of elevationdata points and the second set of elevation data points in a table, theinformation including at least one of the elevation and the particularlocation of each of the elevation data points of the first set and thesecond set of elevation data points.
 15. The system of claim 14, theelevation certificate application being further configured to: receive aselection of one of the elevation data points of the first set ofelevation data points or of the second set of elevation data points viauser input provided in a region of the first computing device displayingthe map; and highlight a displayed row of information in the tableassociated with the selected one of the elevation data points.
 16. Thesystem of claim 15, the elevation certificate application being furtherconfigured to: cause the first computing device to display informationassociated with the selected one of the elevation data points adjacentto the selected one of the elevation data points in the region of thefirst computing device displaying the map.
 17. The system of claim 16,the elevation certificate application being further configured to: causethe first computing device to display the information associated withthe first set of elevation data points in a first table; and cause thefirst computing device to display the information associated with thesecond set of elevation data points in a second table positionedadjacent to the first table.
 18. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium having stored contents that configure a computing systemto perform a method, the method comprising: receiving a plurality ofelevation data points, each of the elevation data points indicating anelevation at a particular location within a buffer zone defined betweena structure boundary of a structure on a parcel of real property and abuffer boundary that surrounds the structure boundary; determining afirst set of the elevation data points corresponding to a firstdetermined number of the plurality of elevation data points indicatinghighest elevations; determining a second set of the elevation datapoints corresponding to a second determined number of the plurality ofelevation data points indicating lowest elevations, a total number ofthe first and second sets of the elevation data points being less than anumber of the received plurality of elevation data points; displaying amap of a region including the structure; displaying the first set andthe second set of elevation data points on the map; omitting fromdisplay at least some of the plurality of elevation data points in thebuffer zone while displaying the first and second sets of elevation datapoints; receiving a selection of a first elevation data point among thefirst set of the elevation data points; receiving a selection of asecond elevation data point among the second set of the elevation datapoints; and automatically inputting elevation data associated with theselected first elevation data point and the selected second elevationdata point into respective fields indicating a highest adjacent grade(HAG) value and a lowest adjacent grade (LAG) value of an electronicelevation certificate record associated with the real property.